April is Minority Health Month

YMCA Healthy Kids Day -- Cleveland

OPA participated in the YMCA Healthy Kids Day in Cleveland, OH on Sunday, April 7th. 

OPA Members Nancy Duff-Boehm, Wendy Kellon, Cathy Gaw (pictured above) and Kathleen Ashton participated in the event. 

Cleveland Clinic Minority Men's Health Fair

Last night, several psychologists represented OPA and Mental Health at the 9^th Annual Cleveland Clinic Minority Men's Health Fair.  The fair serves over 2000 men and their families who come for screenings for everything from prostate cancer to depression.  There were over 50 booths and 20 free screenings offered.  Efforts such as this help to reduce healthcare disparities and  destigmatize psychology and healthcare for minorities. 
It was a pleasure to talk with over 75 of the participants.  Some shared their positive experiences with psychology and therapy, as well as positive coping strategies they use to manage stress such as spirituality, meditation, exercise, and humor.  Others were seeking to build coping strategies and seek treatment for financial stress, caregiver stress, and coping with medical problems.  We were able to provide materials from the APA Public Education Campaign about resilience, stress management, obesity, and heart disease.  We also provided information about referral sources such as the Cleveland Psychological Association's "Find a Psychologist" feature.  What an exciting event!